


never again (he lied)

by simplesongsmistress



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Abduction, Angry Yuno, Angst, Asta Whump, Caring Yuno, Concerned Yuno, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Hurt Asta, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Murderous Yuno, Yuno Does Not Like Leopold, Yuno and Asta are family, Yuno has a heart, Yuno would legit kill for Asta in a heartbeat wbk, asta needs a hug, hints of Yunoasu, protective yuno
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:34:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26681488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplesongsmistress/pseuds/simplesongsmistress
Summary: A long time ago, Yuno made the vow to never again be the person who stood there and cried while his family was being beaten half to death.This time, he didn't cry. This time, he was reading a book.AKA, Asta goes through some bad things and Yuno wasn't there. Yuno finds out.
Relationships: Asta & Black Bulls Ensemble, Asta & Yuno
Comments: 11
Kudos: 128





	1. realization

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhhh so it'd been a while since I wrote fanfic at all. Writing an anime fanfic is something I legit haven't done in like a decade woza. BUT i am soooo into Black Clover and this fic idea came rolling while i lost wifi so I actually got a chapter 1 lol. I love Asta and Yuno so much, though I'm not at the place where I wanna write it as a ship just yet so this story is just platonic love. This fandom needs more fanfic and Imma attempt to add some more on! I can't say for sure if I'll end up writing more fics but I have a ton ideas so we'll see. Something I do enjoy, and if I end up writing more fics you'll see that in those too, is Yuno breaking his cold exterior due to his tremendous care for Asta. Bc we been know he DOES care, even thou he doesnt show it and i love it when that breaks and he is like Well Fuck ofc i care.

Yuno read books. 

And no, it wasn’t just for his ‘image’, opposed to what  _ some _ may think. He actually liked reading, always had. Before he made his vow to never cry again, before that night when his whole outlook changed, reading was what he’d always be doing when he wasn’t by Asta’s side. Something that, as a child, hadn't occurred too frequently. 

From that day onward training had consumed him more often than not, but reading was never something left behind. Just lessened. Though, reading for fun was something that had stopped in its entirety. Rather, reading became learning. Not something he  didn’t  enjoy, per say, but he did miss reading adventures and stories from time to time. 

Now as he was, the best prodigy in the Clover Kingdom proclaimed from the Wizard King himself, in the best guild there was, and stronger than he had ever been before. Yuno felt it was time to allow himself the pleasure of reading for fun once again, reading fiction for once. It’d been so long, he’d forgotten how nice it had been to be immersed in a book. 

So, Yuno valued the moments of silence, when he had his fingers clipped between pages and he hung onto every word. In his enjoyment, he gave refusal to other arbitrary things. Not missions of course or summons from his royal majesty, those were far too important. But Bell’s tugging at his side, Klaus’ ask of accompaniment, even Asta stopping by, those were easier to ignore. Though, he hadn't seen Asta. Rather, one of his guildmates had delivered the message that some Black Bulls weirdo was asking for him outside. Yuno, in his avid reading, had dismissed Asta. He doubted it to be anything important. Knowing Asta, it was a challenge of some sort or an arguement waiting to happen. Yuno wasn't in the mood for it, not when he had such a good book in his hands.

Later he would find out, that it had not been a challenge. Or a fight waiting to happen. It had been something else entirely. 

It was three days later. He had finished his book, done a few missions, considered starting a _new_ book once more (though he wasn't compleatly sure given more than a few Golden Dawn members were annoyed with him in light of his dismissal and refusal to do anything but read his book). 

Three days after Asta had attempted to speak to him, Yuno hadn't thought about it twice. At least, not un til that Black Bull's member, the girl Noelle, had shown up at their guild in frantic search of Mimosa. She was talking so fast, and she was completely unkempt. Unbecoming of royalty, Yuno heard some of his other members whisper in judgment. He hadn't heard what was said from Noelle to Mimosa, only Mimosa's eyes going wide and scared. It was curious, but Yuno wouldn't interject unless they chose to tell him. It wasn't something his business, he was sure. Then again if it involved the Black Bulls, it involved Asta as well, so-- ... _still_ not his business. He wasn't Asta's keeper after all, not even his friend, just his rival. (He could already hear Asta arguing, that he _was_ his friend, his best friend. Not only that, but family too. Yuno wouldn't disagree on the family matter, but 'rivals couldn't be friends' he'd insist). 

It was only when Mimosa locked eyes with him that Yuno felt the urge to ask anyway. Stomp out that curiosity with an answer. It'd be simple and easy, all he had to do was ask. 

All he had to do was show he cared.

Which... it should have been easy. Instead, despite the look in Mimosa's eyes, like she wasn't saying something he should know- Yuno didn't ask. Because he couldn't show he cared. He couldn't have his guildmates thinking less of him. He couldn't let Asta get the faintest glimpse that Yuno was worried. He wasn't worried. He _trusted_ Asta. Whatever was going on, he was sure the other boy could handle it. Yuno wasn't going to destroy that faith just to quell curiosity, just because he happened to be curious (he _wasn't_ worried).

Mimosa made a step to approach him, only to be tugged back by the Black Bull's member, her cousin. She seemed to be in a hurry as if something was dire. But no, if it was dire they would have gone to royal healers or professional. Surely not Mimosa, a member of another guild. They would have done something smarter than that, right?

Then again this _was_ the Black Bulls.

Yuno eyed with interest when he saw another member of them, Langris' brother, waiting outside. He knew his name, he just didn't care to remember. The man was fast to make one of those spatial portals and for the three to hurry through it. 

Well, whatever.

If it was something truly important and dire, they wouldn't be here. (He lied to himself). Asta was an idiot, and he would be able to handle whatever was thrown his way. ( _He was an idiot and would throw himself into danger without a second thought_ , he ignored his own thoughts). 

Everything was fine. 

He wasn't in denial (He denied). 

It was another four days later, a week since Asta had first approached him, that Yuno saw Mimosa again. Another member had asked about her whereabouts (not Yuno himself, he had to keep up with that not caring thing). Master Vangence had dismissed any concern. Mimosa was fine, she was taking care of a personal matter. _Don't worry_. 

Klaus, of course, worried. 

He hadn't been around when she'd been acquired by her cousin from the Black Bulls, and her being with them wasn't something Yuno had shared. Apparently, it wasn't something those gossiping members had shared either. So, Klaus worried, It was only to cease his worrying, _only_ that, that made Yuno suggest going to the Black Bulls. It wasn't his own concern, of course, it was simply to end Klaus'. The other hastily agreed, not that Yuno was surprised. Klaus had a tendency to worry about those he cared for. Of course, Mimosa was apart of that, as was Yuno and somehow Asta. (It wasn't _somehow_ , he would refuse to admit, it wasn't something random, it was _Asta_. Who had an uncanny ability that made everyone care for him so entirely. Yuno would know, being the first of many more to come). 

Yuno had been to the Black Bull's headquarters scarcely in the past. However, every time he had been, it had been so loud you could hear them from miles away. It was a mix of a party and a fight club. With shouts about food, drinks, fighting to the death, among so much more. 

It was what made the current quietness so noteworthy. 

"Yuno-" Klaus had begun, probably about to say as much. 

"I hear it too." Well, he didn't hear it. But Klaus knew what had been meant. The silence was, after all, deafening. 

Arriving at the door, when they didn't answer at the third knock, Yuno fought the instinct to break it down. Where was Mimosa? What was going on that she was needed for? Where was Asta? 

Bell let out a groan. "What are we even doing here Yuno?" She whined. "Don't tell me you're in love with that girl!"

Yuno didn't justify her with a response, unfortunately, Klaus couldn't let it slide. "He is not in love with Mimosa anymore than I am, we are merely concerned about our guildmate!" He expressed, a bit flustered. It was obvious to Yuno though, it was more than just Mimosa that Klaus was concerned about. 

He wondered if he was just as obvious as Klaus was, before quickly dismissing the thought. He had learned a long time ago how to remain calm, how to remain collected. He wouldn't allow himself to become that weeping child who stood by while his best friend his family, was being beaten half to death before his very eyes while he just sat there and cried. 

Yuno became powerful to change things, to become the Wizard King, to protect those he held dear. 

(So why was he standing out here when people he cared for could be in danger?)

The memories of that night in the snow, with Asta's bloody face and toothy smile, flashed before his eyes. Far too vivid. They brought back emotions Yuno preferred to keep buried. So he spoke. "Stand back."

Klaus blinked his eyes. "Yuno you can't blow the door down-"

Bell clasped her hands together, delighting in glee whilst Yuno prepared to use her power. 

Klaus gaped at him. "Yuno-!" 

Then the door opened. 

Behind it was the pink-haired witch who seemed to always be drunk. Though, she didn't look drunk now. Instead, she looked tired. With bags under her eyes, pale skin, and exhaustion to her movements. "Huh." She said, though not curiously or confused. Rather the tone of 'Oh, I see'. "We were wondering when you'd show up. I bet it'd be in a day." Her eyes narrowed. "Guess I had too much faith in you."

They had come here about Mimosa, despite the underlying worry for everyone else. But, faced with this woman, what she said and the way she was looking at him- "Where is Asta." He demanded, Klaus shot him a look, and Yuno kept his gaze solid on the woman. 

This was _Asta_. He knew it. There no way it was someone else. Yuno felt it in his very soul, the unease, the fear, it was Asta.

It could have been a broken limb, or something foolish. But it had been days since they had initially gotten Mimosa so-

"Man, for someone with such a cool exterior, you look so worried." The pinkette mused, Yuno would argue to call it taunting. 

Before Yuno could reply, Bell did. "My Yuno isn't worried! He doesn't care about that runty loudmouth-"

"Bell." He interrupted. "Stop." It was said coldly, in a way he typically didn't talk to anyone but his enemies. Sure he was aloof and dismissive of his allies, but downright cold? It was something he typically tried to avoid, he wasn't one for making unnecessary enemies. 

Bell had chosen him, he would never be her enemy. She was a spirit, with power beyond one's wildest dreams. But Yuno wouldn't sit still whilst she went on insulting Asta in such a way, not when he didn't know the state of his family. When he saw Asta, and the other shot him a toothy smile and challenged him to something foolish. _Than_ Bell could insult him. But not now. Not yet. 

She looked aghast at his treatment. "Yuno-" She began, and once more he interrupted. 

"Where is he?" He asked for the second time, while Bell let out a sound of dejection beside him. "I won't ask again." It wasn't a threat as so much a promise.

"Woah." Another voice entered the fray, a person. Yuno recognized him from the dungeon, if he remembered correctly the guy was called _Luck_. "You look so angry. That's perfect!" His cheery smile turned into something downright terrifying. "I'm angry too. We should fight!" 

Klaus let out a startled sound behind him. "Will you people just tell us what is going on!?" 

Yuno couldn't help but agree, he was tired of the games. He was tired of them avoiding.

"He asked us not to."

There was the spatial magic mage. Langris' brother. _Finral_. Yuno hadn't remembered the name earlier, hadn't cared to search his memory for it. 

He cared now. 

"Asta doesn't want me here." Yuno understood the implication. Of course, Asta wanting him or not bared no heed to him. He wasn't leaving. 

"He-" Finral caught himself as if scared of exposing too much. "He's this way. Come on." He didn't wait to see if they would follow, he was confident they would. Yuno didn't remember the guy being so confident. He looked at the pink-haired woman, who had a solemn look. He looked at the mage Luck, the cheery berserker he was called. Who's smile seemed to be vapidly declining in favor of showing what he actually felt. 

Anger.

Anger that Yuno couldn't help but feel himself. At himself, that is. He could have been here when they had initially gotten Mimosa. Easily he could have inquired and come along, he had thought about it at the time and denied it. Why had he denied it? Oh yeah. He was supposed to have faith in Asta. No, he _did_ have faith in Asta. Why else? He wasn't supposed to show he cared. Though he _did_ care. Maybe he was just a liar. A liar to himself and those around him. Maybe he was simply psyching himself out, maybe they were screwing him. Maybe Yuno was overreacting entirely and everything was fine.

Finral lead them to a room upstairs and Yuno decided e verything was definitively  _ not _ fine. 

Mimosa was there, alongside that cousin of hers. 

There was also Leopold Vermillion. 

He had a rattle of injuries himself, scrapes and bruises, and his arm in a sling. But he didn’t hold a candle to Asta. 

Asta, who had Mimosa’s plants wrapped around him. She’d been here four days already and he was  _ still  _ being healed? Yuno was aghast to look further, to truly examine him. 

He did it anyway.

Injuries caked the boy’s body. A litany of bruises, cuts, and gashes. More than that though was the way he  _ shook _ . Typically, Asta took pain straight in the face and dealt. Perhaps letting out a whine or pain here or there. It was nothing like this. The boy he’d known his whole life looked _shattered_. 

He was conscious but only barley. 

Yuno felt the abstract urge to hit something. 

The last time he’d seen Asta so injured was that time so so long ago, when they were so young. Sure he’d dealt with numerous injuries since then, since becoming a magic knight, but nothing like  _ this _ . this wasn't a battle, this was a beating. 

“Who did this?” He found himself asking before even thinking about the words. He finally drew Asta’s attention, evidently, it became sharper with his presence, with his questions. “ _ Where are they? _ ” It was a rage Yuno didn’t often feel outside of battle. A burst of anger he was so used to keeping tightly lidded. 

Being someone calm was _important_ to him. Yuno never wanted to be that person again, the one who cried while his family got beaten half to death instead of doing something. He hadn’t cried this time, no. He hadn’t even been there, this time, he had been reading a  book . 

“What. Happened.” It was the third time he asked that question, but it was different this time. This time he knew the results of what had happened, he knew the state Asta was in, this time, any silence of an answer would be meant with Yuno’s anger.

“Yuno-” Mimosa began, her tone sorrowful. She was interrupted, however, by the Flame Guild’s boy. The self-proclaimed rival of Asta.

“You weren’t there.” He said, and for the first time, Yuno wanted nothing more than to send the boy flying. He hadn’t cared when he declared himself Asta’s rival, a position already taken (not that he was territorial, he  _ wasn’t _ ). But this? The accusation in his tone. The fact he was injured as well…

“But you were.” He realized. “And you  _ let it _ .”

He wondered if he would get kicked out of the Golden Dawn if he murdered the boy, right here and now. 

Angered at the accusation, the boy stood up. “I didn’t let it! That isn’t what happened!” 

Furiously, Yuno asked. “Then what  _ did _ ?”

“ _ Yuno _ .” this time it wasn’t Mimosa to say his day. Rather, his name came out in a wisp of a voice, belonging to the boy he called his rival. His best friend, his family, the person who inspired Yuno to become who he was. The person who he promised himself, he would protect. (He hadn’t been able to back then, he had promised to never fail again. Now… here he was. The best rookie of the year. In the very best guild. The person who stood back while Asta got hurt in such a tremendous way. A failure.)

He sucked in a deep breath, unwilling to let himself yell at Asta just yet, despite his frustration. “Asta,” Yuno addressed, tone far softer than he intended. In the corner of his eye, he saw Bell’s startled expression after hearing it. He stepped forward, standing beside where Mimosa and Noelle sat beside his bed. 

He stared down at the boy. “What happened?” And for the first time, he hadn’t asked with fury or annoyance. For the first time, he let his worry and concern gleam through. 

Then Asta, the idiot he was, smiled. “Aw, are you worried about me?” 

“Of course I am!” It wasn’t said in anger, but genuine concern. 

“ _Asta_ ,” He had forgotten Klaus had accompanied him as well. In all the bluster, everyone sans the boy in front of him had been forgotten. “Who did you fight with that gave you such injuries?”

It was at this question, the other boy faltered. “I uh…” His hesitation in itself was damning. Was it someone they knew? Was it someone  _ reachable _ ? Asta wasn’t one to be embarrassed by injuries he obtained in battle or protecting others. So why-

“It wasn’t a battle.” Yuno realized, feeling a coldness grasp at his heart. The sinking realization was  _ drowning _ . 

“It… wasn’t a battle,” Asta confirmed. 

It hadn’t been an accident. Not with injuries as particular as Asta had. Like he’d been cut into, like someone had- 

“You were tortured.” 

“It  _ wasn’t- _ ” Asta caught himself, seemingly unsure of what to even say. His face shifted, from something defensive to something vulnerable as he looked down at his injured hands. His injured _everything_. "They called it an experiment.” 

They called it an experiment. All those injuries on his body were on account of an experiment? Asta could dismiss it as that, he probably _was_ knowing him. But Yuno saw it for what it was. Exactly as he had called it. Torture. 

“ _ Who _ ?” A simple word, but out of Yuno’s mouth, it was venom. 

“We don’t know yet.” It was Finral who answered, and it wasn’t an answer Yuno had wanted to hear. 

Yuno inhaled, trying to calm himself. He wasn’t used to dealing with this type of rage. He was used to being able to keep his composure. A task that was obsolete in the face of Asta’s severe injuries that didn’t come from a battle. 

“Start from the beginning. What happened?” 

Asta stared at him, his expression that was grimmer than Yuno was used to seeing on him. “I don’t want to tell you.”

“You  _ what _ ?” It was Klaus behind him, who gaped at such a statement. He wondered if this was what Finral was getting at before, Asta didn’t want to see him. He didn’t want him to know. 

But Yuno had to know. It wasn’t a matter of want or not want. It was something that wasn’t going to be argued with. 

“Asta!” Klaus exclaimed. “I don’t see how keeping this secret will help anyone-”

“It was a week ago.” Noelle cut in, tone cold as she looked straight at Yuno.

A week ago, when Asta had attempted to visit him.  _ Oh _ .

No wonder Asta hadn’t wanted him to know. The fire idiot had been right. He could have prevented this. 

Yuno could have prevented this and hadn’t. Because he was reading a book. 

_ Oh.  _


	2. remembrance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If yall notice I added the tag *hints of Yunoasu*. I just can't help myself it seems, my shipping breaks thru my attempt at platonic. Honestly, it could be read either way., whichever is preferred.

So here was the story. At least, from what Yuno could gather off that flame idiot. The other idiot,  _ his  _ idiot, was a bad storyteller. Not to mention still suffering from injuries. So, they decided to leave his room so Asta could get more rest. Well, it was less of a decision and more so Asta was injured and  _ tired _ , despite saying otherwise (in all fairness Asta could be half-dead and still ready to throw down or scream his head off, so that was entirely unexpected). So they left so he could get rest. 

Well, that was  _ one  _ of the reasons. Another reason, the kind Yuno chose to keep himself, was the fact that he didn’t want Asta to see him like this. 

'This' meaning, well, _angry_. Concerned as well. For so long, Yuno worked so hard to control his emotions, to never be that same little kid he used to be. So now he was someone composed, someone very different, someone who typically only let emotions show in battle. 

Or with Asta.

Asta was an everlasting exception on account Yuno couldn't control his affection for his rival. Of course, that exception also applied with the kids at the Church, Sister Lily, and Father Orsi but he didn’t have to worry about them when they were so far away. Asta was the only one in range to worry about, and Yuno hadn’t worried.

Until now, that is. 

According to Leopold ( _ the flame idiot _ , his mind insisted), it went like this: it wasn’t a mission, rather a personal errand of sorts. Asta wanted to do something,  _ but _ he didn’t want to involve the Black Bulls (which felt like a contradiction in Asta’s very self and Yuno would look further into that later because it didn’t sound like him at all). He wanted company, or perhaps advice. So he had gone to Yuno. 

Yuno, who in turn, blew him off. 

He could blame it on the fact that Asta had never before come to the Golden Dawn looking for him. He could blame it on the idea that Asta should have been able to handle himself. There were a lot of things Yuno could easily place the burden of blame onto. 

But, he knew where it belonged. And that was with him. Asta would disagree if Yuno said as much, he was sure. Hell, his rival hadn’t even wanted him to  _ know _ because he predicted Yuno’s behavior and reaction. (When had he become someone so predictable? Or maybe it was just Asta who know him so well... ).

“So Asta recruited you?” Klaus asked in confirmation to Leopold. 

The flame boy frowned. “Recruited might not be the word.” He thought for a moment. “He needed help with something, and needed a friend.” Looking at Yuno, right in the eyes, he said. “And I was there.”

Yuno glared. “You let it happen, is what you mean to say.”

Leopold looked ready to argue once again, and Yuno even knew as he said it, it’d been an unnecessary jab. It wasn’t like him to rehash arguments had less than ten minutes ago (becoming the Wizard King, notwithstanding. He’d have that argument with Asta a million times, and he’d remain confident in his stance each time). 

“It wasn’t that simple. Maybe if you let me  _ finish _ , you’d see.” 

He had never paid much mind to the Crimson Lion's squad member before. The boy had never piqued his interest. Perhaps an itch of annoyance when he declared Asta his rival, but nothing truly pressing. Not until now. 

“So. Finish.”

Leopold huffed only for a moment before his expression became something more somber. “He- they… I didn’t get a good look at them. Their magic was an instant KO, and neither of us had seen it coming.”

“What were you even  _ doing _ ?” It wasn’t Yuno who demanded such an answer this time. Instead, it was Klaus.“What was he doing that he didn’t want any of the Black Bulls there for? It’s unlike him.” It was curious, Yuno would agree. Asta wasn’t the type to exclude anyone, let alone his guildmates, people he loved. It was something to look into, though Yuno doubted it had much to do with what else had occurred the ‘field trip'. Rather, it’d been a convenient moment to nab him for whoever did so. (Whoever it was though, they would pay...) 

“You said that this occurred in the shopping district,” It was Finral who had spoken up this time around. “That’s where I sent Captain Yami, Magna, Charmi, and Gauche.” Ah, so this bit of the conversation was a rehash and the Black Bulls had been over this much. “So what were you two doing there?”

Leopold sputtered for a moment. “I probably shouldn’t tell you…” Idly, Yuno wondered if he could use the lack of confession as an excuse to  _ make _ him talk. It wouldn’t fix Asta, but letting out his frustrations would make him feel a slight bit better. 

“Are you kidding me?” It was the pink-haired woman who said as much. “The kid was tortured and you think now is the time for  _ secrets _ ?”

The Crimson Lion member stared at her for only a moment before giving a nod. “Don’t tell Asta I told you but… he was picking out gifts for all you guys.”

“He  _ what _ ?” It was Noelle who had exclaimed as much, with her cheeks turning pink at the revelation of it. “Gifts? For me--- erm,  _ us _ … why?”

“It’s almost been a year since he joined the Black Bulls,” Leopold explained. “He wanted to commemorate the occasion.” 

Had it truly almost been a year since the two had set out from Hage and become Magic Knights? Not only that but Asta, of all people, had remembered the exact date and cited it as an anniversary. Well… _actually_ , thinking about it, it made sense. Asta, who had circled the day in the calendar so long ago, of course, he would remember the date so vividly and consider it important enough to deem his friends with presents. 

“That idiot.” Despite the negativity of the word, Yuno’s tone was anything but scolding or dismissive. Instead, it was something fond. 

Asta had wanted his help picking out presents. They hadn’t done that together since they were younger and wanted to surprise the little kids at the Church. Of course, they hadn’t had much money to spend and there weren’t many lavish things in Hage itself to buy. Instead, they settled for actions or handmade gifts. The results varied. 

“So, go on,” Klaus spoke, getting them back on track. “You were there, shopping, and they knocked you out. What else happened?” 

“We awoke in this weird place- and there was a woman with special magic…” He grimaced at the memory. “It was like we were drugged, unable to focus enough to use proper magic or so much as make an escape. And we tried! I mean… I’m pretty sure Asta tried.”

“Pretty sure?” Vanessa narrowed her eyes, understanding there was something that Leopold was not saying. “Why not completely? It doesn’t sound like Asta to give up.” 

Leopold sighed. He looked ashamed, Yuno noticed. “He didn’t give up it was just that… the first thing I woke up to was them dragging him away. It’s still a bit hazy, but…” He inhaled, like the next bit was going to be hard to say.

Yuno was already predicting it’d be hard to hear. Sighing, he prompted.  “Asta mentioned them experimenting.”

“.... yeah.” Leopold grimaced. “When they brought him back he was… he was really weak. This guy was there too, he hadn’t dragged Asta back himself but he was talking to him.” Anger struck his face. “He was  _ gloating _ . Or maybe he was trying to intimidate him, I don’t know-- but he… from what I heard, they took blood, scar tissue, spinal fluid... and whole other things out of him. They also took his shoes.” That part was said with forlorn eyes like Leopold was remembering it in greater detail than he had prior. Like that little part of his bare feet had been something so memorable. _Well_ , maybe it had. Yuno wasn’t there, he reminded himself painfully, so who was he to say something about it? “He was so bloody… and I’d never seen him without his headband before either.”

His Black Bulls headband. Yuno remembered the day he himself had seen it for the first time, first seen Asta in his robes as part of the Black Bulls. He had been the one to give Asta his first-ever headband when the boy had been struggling to keep his unruly hair out of his face. It was after they’d become rivals after Yuno had made his vow. He’d seen the other boy struggling, and at the time Yuno had been desperate to try and keep his distance (rivals couldn’t be friends!) but it was such a simple solution and Asta was being so  _ dumb _ . 

So he left the headband on the other boy’s pillow… to which Asta hadn’t noticed for a week and a half until Nash found it. Yuno remembered walking past and seeing Sister Lily help Asta use it to pull his hair back, the toothy grin he’d given at being able to see so clearly without an issue. 

He had been so sure he’d been discreet. And yet, only a week later he’d found Asta baking his favorite type of cookies. As if the other boy had known what Yuno had done and was repaying him with cookies. Yuno’s favorite cookies, mind you.  _ Mint _ . He hadn’t had any mint cookies in so long now, when Asta got better Yuno would ask for some, he decided. Maybe cooking would occupy the boy during his recovery instead of doing something stupid (like taking on an enemy mage with his sword in his mouth. The relentless fool.. ). 

“So they took parts of him… ?” Noelle had glassy eyes like she was trying not to cry. Yuno himself had already realized this bit from the beginning. It was something he had gathered from Asta’s initial short explanation of it beforehand. It seemed it took Leopold to explain it in more detail for the other to fully grasp how bad it had been. “How could you just do that to a person-why-! … why?” 

Maybe it was because she was a noble, Yuno pondered. That Noelle had no idea the lengths of the world's cruelty. Cruelty without reason or remorse. The world was chock-full of it. It was only a matter of time before it struck again. It was never a question of if, rather,  _ when _ . 

“His anti-magic.” Vanessa understood what Yuno had guessed from the moment the word ‘experiment' had been mentioned. 

“I’m going to be sick...” Noelle said, and Yuno shared the affliction.

He knew the cold realities of life, probably better than most. Certainly better than most of his squadmates from nobility. He understood the truth of the world, how unkind it was. Hell, he wanted to become Wizard King to change it. 

Yet there he was, feeling so feeble at the actions of others when he should have expected them. People being horrible was  _ expected _ . So why did he feel so ill? 

No… he knew why. Because, well,  _ Asta _ . 

People _using_ Asta.

It was never something he’d ever worried about before, on the grounds that Asta had never had something for others to gain through him. It was something Yuno would ordinarily make fun of him for. Instead, right now, Yuno couldn’t bring himself to so much as of speak. 

Now Asta was the wielder of anti-magic. An anomaly in a world full of magic. Of course, people wanted to replicate it, of  _ course,  _ people wanted to use him. Yuno had just never entertained the idea they’d gain the chance. 

“How did you two escape?” It was Klaus who had asked a thought that Yuno hadn’t even had in mind. He had simply been concerned with the fact Asta was here now, and what put him in this state. Not how he had gotten out of that hellhole, wherever they had been. 

“Well,” Despite the fraud mood, Leopold did seem a bit brighter say what he said next. “Asta, of course.”

_ Of course _ . Bleeding and half-dead and Asta still managed to save them.

“How so?” Klaus asked with a curious stare. 

“He…” There was both sadness and fondness upon Leopold’s face as recited the memory. “Somehow, Asta snagged a piece of glass.”  _ Glass? _ “He hid in his… in his skin. His palm. He was so out of it… couldn’t even sit up straight. He was in so much pain but he got that piece of glass so we could escape- he’s amazing.” Despite his untoward feelings toward Leopold, Yuno couldn’t help but agree. Not that he voiced as much out loud. “I couldn’t focus my magic, but I was able to get a good strike at our guard. I took him down, got the keys, and carried  Asta out of there.” 

“You carried him?” Yuno didn’t know why that much took him by surprise. It only stood to reason, given Asta’s state the boy could hardly stand, let alone walk. 

“Yeah… “ An awkward chuckle escaped the other, despite the tense atmosphere. “I think it was adrenaline?”

_ No _ , Yuno didn’t say,  _ it was that Asta makes people feel like they could do anything _ . 

With crossed arms, Vanessa asked. “And you don’t know where the base you were kept at is?”

“Nope,” Leopold confirmed. Before Yuno could fit a remark of the rude sort, the other added. “I was too busy getting us to safety.”

_ Ugh _ , that was a valid reason. 

Then, there was a bang. The kind where the door was kicked in. The kind where the door could have fallen off its hinges very easily. Which was almost funny, considering it was the door to his very own guild. Behind it stood Captain Yami, a vindictive smile upon his face. Unsettling to the very core, Yuno himself found solidarity in it. 

“We found the fuckers.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. I’m lazy. I considered legit flashing back to what had happened but I feel like this story is more about Yuno’s POV in the aftermath rather than the actual event so i Yeeted that idea and did this instead. I have two more chaps to go and then the end~~ I m already in pre-planning my next fic and I said fuck it it’s gonna be straight up Yunoasu (Cinderella AU!!). I made a whole story chart and everything lol. BUT before that comes out, I have to finish writing this. I'm working very hard to actually finish a WIP for once.
> 
> Also on a side note as I’m writing this, I’m hoping that Leopold isn’t too OOC. Honestly, he hadn’t been planned in the story, I sort of just needed a character to fill in the role of the person who was with Asta but not a Black Bull + someone for Yuno to blame and pick a fight with and Leopold happened to fit well.


End file.
